It has become common in the waste collection industry to recycle some materials. To improve efficiency in the recycling process, it is often asked of consumers that get rid of their wastes to separate the wastes in two or more categories. For example, users may be asked to separate paper, cardboard and similar materials in one container and to separate glass, plastic, metal and similar materials in another container.
To improve the efficiency of the waste collecting process and reduce cluttering of the space in which the waste is disposed of, it has become common to have containers that have two or more compartments for selectively receiving the different categories of wastes. Then, when the contractor responsible for collecting the wastes comes to the collection site, all compartments except the one for which the contractor is responsible are locked and the container, which is typically relatively large, is lifted and turned upside down so that the wastes can flow through a top apertures of the container.
Typically, this operation is performed with containers that have top apertures that are covered by lids. By selectively locking all the lids except one, turning the container upside down will result in only the contents of the compartment corresponding to the unlocked lid to flow out of the container.
Due to the relatively large number of sites a given contractor visits in a single day, it is advantageous to have mechanisms that allow for selectively locking and unlocking different lids without the operator having to leave his truck. To that effect, many mechanisms have been designed that allow such selective locking and unlocking of compartments in a container. However, they are often relatively difficult to operate by an intended user driving a truck as they require relatively precise steering of the truck and relatively precise operation of a fork lift used to lift a container to properly lock the right compartment. Also, operation of currently existing locks is typically relatively confusing as there is little indication regarding the exact manipulation that must be performed to lock and unlock the right compartments.
Against this background, there exists a need in the industry to provide an improved multi-compartment container. An object of the present invention is therefore to provide such a container.